bumpy
Americanadjective
-
bumpier,
comparative
-
bumpiest
superlative
-
of uneven surface; full of bumps.
a bumpy road.
-
full of jolts.
a bumpy ride.
-
causing jolts.
Bumpy air shook the airplane.
-
having many difficulties or failures; full of ups and downs.
He had a rather bumpy career before he settled down in his present job.
adjective
-
having an uneven surface
a bumpy road
-
full of jolts; rough
a bumpy flight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of bumpy
Explanation
Bumpy means not smooth, as in covered in lumps and bumps, like a bumpy path that makes your car bounce, or a bumpy road to getting your parents to lend you the car. Anything covered in bumps is bumpy, whether it’s a road, the skin of a toad, or the surface of the birthday cake you made for your brother. It can also describe a ride full of unexpected jolts and bumps: "It was a bumpy journey along the mountain passes in her Jeep." Figuratively, bumpy can also describe a difficult process: "What a bumpy ride that was, getting my visa to travel to China!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Stocks tied to the artificial-intelligence trade dropped, extending their bumpy stretch ahead of Wednesday’s all-important earnings update from Nvidia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
However, it’s been a bumpy post-IPO ride for Cerebras shares, which have fallen over 30% from their first-day close.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
And it’s obviously somebody who’s been down a very bumpy road himself and won’t judge the decision one way or the other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Tech stocks have had a bumpy ride because of fears that the buzz around artificial intelligence may not match reality and that shares in the sector are overcooked.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
It wasn’t as bumpy a ride as it used to be, so Moss wasn’t worried that he’d get a headache.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
She doesn't have an economics background but it may be felt that a senior minister from the party's right could reassure the markets and avoid a potentially bumpier transition for Burnham.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
“If you just need to buy and hold something for the next decade I think you just have to accept that it’s going to be a bumpier ride than in the past,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
It’s time to prepare your retirement portfolio for a bumpier ride.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
"The bumpier, irregular surface of the virulent strains exposes parts of the virus that are normally hidden, allowing certain antibodies to attach more easily," Dr. Bibby said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2025
After a while, the road became bumpier and the nose of the car pointed up.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
This latest one, on the welfare state, comes after Sir Keir Starmer has endured his bumpiest days yet in Downing Street.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
The bumpiest place to sit is in the tail area of the plane, he said, though it doesn’t make a lot of a difference.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2022
“There’s like 100 bumps on one straight. It’s the bumpiest roller-coaster ride ever.”
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2022
Now, he couldn't apologize enough for his latest misstep in what's become the bumpiest jump to the NFL ever attempted by a college coaching great.
From Fox News ● Oct. 5, 2021
It was like being on the bumpiest, scariest roller-coaster ride!
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
